The meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers
by DigiDestined of Courage
Summary: The conclusion is here! A miracle is needed to stop Apocalymon, so the DigiDestined and Henry give Tai, Takato and the others a miracle nobody expected! Plus, Tai suggests that Takato follow his dreams at the end of the adventure. Some Rukato and Taiora.
1. Where did the goggle boys go?

Me: You all know me, so I'll make this brief-I don't own Digimon, Seasons 01, 02 or now... 

(drumroll) Season 03! 

Tai: You don't mean...? 

Me: That's right-this story is my first one featuring Digimon Tamers-even though you guys 

are in it too! 

(In enters Takato) 

Takato: Finally! I was getting worried for a moment there. 

Tai: He's the new leader of the team? 

Me: Yes-he's got the goggles, the hair, the Digimon, the crush on the tomboy...need I go on? 

Takato: (blushes) Can we not mention the crush thing, 'cause unlike the whole Taiora deal, 

my crush could literally kill me before any sort of relationship could start? 

Me: Sure-I'll keep it a secret (whispers to Tai) for a while at least. Oh, before I forget to mention, this is a Taiora, Daiyako and a Rukato rolled up into one. 

Tai/Takato: A w-w-w-what?! 

Me: Let's get going!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Digimon 

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and Tamers 

Part I: Where'd the Goggle boys go?   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Being a DigiDestined was a hard life-you had to feed your Digimon, make sure he's well 

rested, constantly keep him-her-out of trouble and occasionally take on a menacing evil or 

two. Being a Digimon Tamer-that was even harder! You fed your Digimon on some occasions 

and had to fight whatever Digimon suddenly appeared out of nowhere! To make matters 

worse, a weird guy in a suit comes up to you and warns you to "Quit playing games!" Like 

this is a game of some sort? Oh, by the way-my name's Takato Matsuki. I'm the resident 

leader of the team-I think. We got our brain guy-Henry Wong-and our tomboy who shows 

some feeling but otherwise despises just about everyone, which includes me-Rika Nonaka. 

The only one she shows any feeling toward is her Digimon Renamon and that was nearly 

ripped apart due to an attack by our first ever real villian-Ice Devimon! Anyway, I'd better 

shut up and tell you of my latest adventure that started in the early years of the millennium- 

around the time of the original DigiDestined   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


This whole thing started a few months after the defeat of MaloMyotismon, one of the 

DigiDestined's greatest foes. Tai Kamiya-who I guess you could call one of my predecessors- 

was on his way to talk with Sora Takenouchi, his best friend-who's probably one of Rika's 

predecessors, although I'm not too sure if that's possible... 

"Okay, you can do this. No matter what she says, you can do this. Just walk right up to her and 

say, 'Sora, I love you!' Ha! If she wasn't dating Matt, I'd say this could be easy, but it's not!" 

Finally, Tai reached the Takenouchi residence with his partner Agumon by his side. Putting 

his mask on, Tai cautiously knocked on the door. 

"Oh, Tai. Won't you come in for a moment?" Tai looked up and gazed into the face of an 

angel-Sora Takenouchi. 

"Sure, but I won't be here long-I think." 

"Of course you will! Now, where's the fridge?" Agumon demanded as he brushed his way 

past Tai and Sora and made a beeline for the refrigerator. 

"Ignore him-but have someone make sure he doesn't eat everything up in there!" Tai advised. 

"Hey-you can't eat those! That's for Sora's dinner! Let go of that lasagna box!" Sora couldn't 

help but laugh at the sight of Biyomon fighting with Agumon for control of an unopened 

lasagna box. 

"So, you're having Matt over for lasagna, right? Figured that would be too big for you two 

and your mother to eat alone, so I'll just grab Agumon and get out of your way." Tai said as 

he went toward the kitchen to get Agumon. Sora stopped him, though. 

"Tai, wait! Uh...this wasn't for Matt. I had wanted to invite you over because we haven't 

done anything together for a while now. I was hoping you'd be free tonight." Sora admitted 

as a light blush crossed her cheeks. 

"Oh, I see. You were planning to invite me, huh?" 

The mask dropped for a moment and Sora saw the pain in Tai's eyes-pain that she had 

caused by choosing his best friend over him during the concert and had started a relationship 

with. She started shaking and Tai carefully placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"I'd be delighted to come back a little later and have some lasagna." Tai declared as a smile 

crossed his face. The tension that had been in the air vanished when Tai had said that. 

"Thanks, Tai! I didn't think you were going to accept." 

"I've never refused my best friend before, have I? But, there's something I've got to tell you 

before I go and get ready." Tai calmed himself down and gathered his courage. 

"Yeah, Tai?" 

"Sora, I..." 

At that moment, right before Sora's eyes, Tai Kamiya and his partner Agumon disappeared.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Tense, wasn't it? Let's find out what's going on with my other predecessor, Davis Motomiya, 

as he heads to the local Odaiba Elementary School and goes up to the computer lab... 

"Yolei?! Are you in here?" Davis yelled out, which effectively startled Yolei Inoue. 

"Ahh! Davis, don't scare me like that." 

"I tried to get him not to, but he's too hyped up about what day it is." Veemon explained as 

he came in a few seconds after Davis. 

"So, what day is it?" Yolei asked calmly. 

"The day we met and became friends!" Davis exclaimed as he pulled a bouquet of flowers 

from behind his back. 

"You-you-you actually remembered the day we met?!" Yolei stammered in surprise. 

"Intriguing that Davis would actually remember something that assumably happened so long 

ago and Yolei wouldn't." Hawkmon noted. 

"Hey-I do remember some key events in my life, and this just so happens to be one of them! 

So, ready go to out on a day that you can't possibly forget?" Davis said calmly. 

"Well..." Yolei, unfortunately never got to answer Davis' question, because he-and Veemon- 

disappeared a few seconds after that!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Wondering when we'll ever see them again? Anyway, time to flash forward into the future 

and find me-walking with a sense of purpose, determination, confidence and pure 

nerve-racking intensity as I made my way toward Rika Nonaka's house. As a matter of fact, 

I didn't have that far to walk, since I accidentally collided with her as I turned a corner! 

"Oww! Why don't you watch we're you're-oh, it's you goggle head. There's no Digimon 

here, so where are you going?" Rika asked cynically. 

"Uh...I was actually on my way to see you!" I managed to get out with a tinge of nervousness. 

I knew how she could be-what words could be used to describe Rika? Stubborn to a fault, 

convinced that all Digimon are meant to be used for battles-Renamon nearly creamed 

Guilmon when I first met her, if it weren't for Gargomon's appearance. Where was I? 

Oh, yeah-a regular pain, once you got to know her-I think. Cares for nobody but herself-but I 

know better. Has a heart of ice, but that's not scientifically proven yet. That's about all I can 

think of to describe Rika Nonaka. 

"To see me? What-do you like me or something?" Rika replied sarcastically. 

I started blushing at that instant. Luckily for me, I disappeared at that second! Guilmon was 

at his house with Calumon, playing hide and seek when he disappeared. 

"Hey-where'd Guilmon go?"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Tai, Agumon, Davis, Veemon, Guilmon and myself all reappeared in a completely dark place- 

the only thing we could all see were ourselves! 

"Tai-are you all right?" Davis asked. 

"Yeah-you?" 

"A-okay! Hey-who's that kid?" 

Tai, Agumon, Davis and Veemon all turned to see me and Guilmon! 

"Wait! It's okay-I'm one of you guys!" I insisted as I yanked out my D-Arc and pointed it at 

them. "Tai? Davis? You guys are-real?" 

"Yeah! The question is, 'Who are you?'" Davis retorted grimly. 

"Name's Takato, this is Guilmon, my Digimon.Pleased to meet you." I held out my hand and 

Davis shook it with ease. 

"That's Veemon, dude with the face of darkness is Tai and Agumon, and as you've already 

figured out, I'm Davis. So, you've heard about all the neato things I've done to save the DigiWorld, huh?" 

I would've responded, but a Digimon who looked like a clown with swords suddenly appeared! 

Tai and Agumon immediately stepped forward. 

"That's-" Tai began cautiously. 

"That's Piedmon, a Mega Digimon! He's deadly, so watch out for his Trump Swords attack! 

Don't underestimate his Clown Trick attack either, or you'll be sorry!" I interrupted quickly. 

The four of them eyed me with a weird look. 

"Sorry. If I'd known you were gonna say it, I would've stopped myself." 

"Well, well, well. The hero of Courage has brought some recruits along to witness his death. 

Fitting that his successor and wanna-be should be here to see this. Prepare to die!" 

Instantly, Tai raised his Digivice to the sky. 

"Agumon Warp-Digivolve to...WARGREYMON!!!" 

As WarGreymon went to face his old foe, Guilmon turned to me and asked, "Takatomon, why 

are we here?" 

"I wish I could tell you Guilmon, but I'm confused myself." 

That's when things got worse. MaloMyotismon appeared and once his eyes found Davis, he 

prepared an attack. 

"Who's that?" Guilmon said as Davis, Veemon, Tai and I all turned in shock. 

"That's-" Davis began, but I interrupted him. 

"That's MaloMyotismon! He's another Mega Digimon with his Crimson Mist and Mental 

Illusion attacks. He's extremely dangerous!" I warned. Tai and Davis eyed me with looks of 

astonishment. 

"What-are you from the future or something?!" Davis yelped out. I considered what I'd tell 

them for a second or so, then replied calmly, "You could say that..." 

"Digivolve, Veemon!" 

"But, I can only Digivolve to Champion. Ken's not here, so I can't DNA Digivolve." Davis 

bent down and eyed his partner with a smile. 

"Listen, I'm sure that if you concentrate, you can Digivolve to Ultimate and to Mega all on 

your own. Give it your all, pal!" Davis yelled out. Veemon nodded and started glowing. 

"Veemon Digivolve to...EXVEEMON!!!" 

"ExVeemon Digivolve to...PAILDRAMON!!!" 

"Paildramon Mega-Digivolve to...IMPERIALDRAMON!!!" 

"Imperialdramon: Mode Change to...FIGHTER MODE!!!" 

"Cool!" Davis, Guilmon and I stood there alongside Tai as we saw Imperialdramon-restored 

without the assistance of Kindness. 

WHAM! WarGreymon suddenly collided with Imperialdramon and they both hit the ground 

in pain. We turned to see Devimon, but he was completely covered in ice! My eyes narrowed 

in anger as I readied myself for battle. 

"Okay, future boy-since you seem to know so much about Digimon, who's that guy?" Davis 

asked. 

"That's Ice Devimon, a high level Champion Digimon! He tried convincing a friend of mine 

to have him as her Digimon partner. Luckily for her, I-and another friend of mine-showed up 

and Guilmon took care of him.He's got a devishly cold Frost Claw attack! " I explained coldly. 

I pulled out my D-Arc again and prepared myself for a battle. 

"You ready, Guilmon?" I asked. 

"Mm-hmm!" My D-Arc glowed brightly and, for the first time, Tai and Davis were about to 

see what I could do. 

Digivolution! 

"Guilmon Digivolve to...GROWLMON!!!" 

So, there we were-Tai, Davis and myself; WarGreymon, Imperialdramon and Growlmon, facing 

off against foes we thought we'd defeated, but they had come back and were desiring revenge! 

Could we defeat them as we were now? I hope so, because there's no way for us to reach our 

friends!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. A Noble Sacrifice

Me: Hey-it's me! I don't own Digimon, and that's about it. 

Tai: What about everything else you were gonna say?! 

Me: I have no idea what you're talking about. 

Takato: Yeah you do! All that other stuff about making this a Taiora, a Daiyako and a Rukato 

just to frighten off anti-Taiora/Daiyako and Rukato fans away! 

Me: I never said I was gonna say that-I did mention that you guys might show up and say a 

few words. 

Tai/Takato: Oh, crap... 

Me: (chuckles evilly) While those two lament their fate, let's continue on with the story!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Digimon 

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and Tamers 

Part II: A Noble Sacrifice   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hey, everybody-it's me Takato! Bet you thought something bad happened, didn't you? Oh, 

well, we can't all get what we want in life.(laughs) That was a joke, for those people born without a sense of humor. So, where was I? That's right-Guilmon had just Digivolved into Growlmon and we were gonna take on Ice Devimon alongside some living legends-Tai and Davis, who were in the middle of their own battles against Piedmon and MaloMyotismon. So, 

the question that's running through everybody's mind is...what happened to the other 

DigiDestined and Tamers, right? Since I'm going to assume that I got the right answer, I'll 

shut up now and return to the Real World via the turn of the century...   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"WHAT HAPPENED TO TAI?! YOU'VE GOTTA FIND HIM, IZZY!" 

"WHAT ABOUT DAVIS? HE'S MISSING TOO!" 

Basically, pandemonium reigned supreme with the DigiDestined. While Izzy and Ken were 

struggling to find out precisely where Tai and Davis had gone, Sora, Yolei and Kari were all 

trying to stay calm and not break out into a flood of tears. And we thought things were out of 

order when Tai had disappeared through that vortex in "The Earthquake of Metal Greymon!" 

"Calm down Sora and please, quit yelling in my ear! I'm not deaf-although I'm not sure how 

much more of this I could take. Okay, here's the situation: Tai and Davis both vanished at the 

same time, am I correct?" Izzy questioned calmly. 

"Mm-hmm." 

"So, all we need to do is track their Digivices and see where they've gone to-if they're anywhere on Earth, we'll know it. Don't worry, guys. Things will be okay soon if we just keep a level 

head and stay on top of things."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Level head?! One of your closest friends has disappeared into thin air and all you're gonna 

say to me is 'we need to keep a level head in this?' Why did I even think to come here in the 

first place?" 

Obviously, Rika's concerned about me, but she wouldn't admit it to my face-not now, or 

anytime soon. To keep things going, once Rika had realized what was going on, she found 

Renamon (or Renamon found her, however that works) and they made a mad dash towards 

Henry's house. Along the way, they'd run into Calumon, so they decided he shouldn't get into trouble and insisted that he come with them. He was, at this moment, playing hide-and-seek with Terriermon. 

"Rika, wait! Okay, maybe we aren't trying something that we should. We could track him with 

the D-Arcs, right? All I need to do is wait until he has Guilmon Digivolve and we'll-huh? 

Whoa-that was quick! We found him! The only problem is, I'm not sure where he's at." Henry 

noted grimly. 

Sure enough, when Rika got a good look at Henry's computer, there I was, in full technicolor 

on the battleground.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


I steadied myself, preparing to grab for one of my cards and power Growlmon up so he'd be 

able to win this fight quickly. Only problem was, my cards weren't there, with the exception of a Matrix Digivolution card! I groaned out loud, remembering that I'd left them at home for the day since I had "planned" to tell Rika how I felt, even if she did turn me into mincemeat. 

"Goggle head? Is that you?" 

I tooked up and saw a vision of lovliness embedded on a screen-Rika Nonaka. 

"Rika? How'd you find me?" 

"Never mind that-where are you? Why would you leave in the middle of a conversation and 

not finish what you were gonna say?" 

"Uh..." I heard a cry of pain and turning, saw Growlmon being thrown to the ground by Ice 

Devimon in one shot. "Could I get back to you on this matter, Rika? I'm kinda in the middle 

of something here." 

"Hey-who's the chick?" Davis asked with a wicked grin on his face. I glared at him and couldn't help but laugh when Rika eyed Davis with a look and advised, "Don't even think 

about it! It's already bad enough that I've got one goggle head to deal with." 

"Frozen Claw!!" I heard Rika's gasp of indignation and knew that she knew that Ice Devimon was back. 

"Takato, where are you? And who are you fighting with? Ahh! That's Ice Devimon!" Henry 

yelled out. 

"Who are those guys? Are they from the future too?" Tai asked calmly. I laughed weakly and 

did what Tai himself would do in a situation like this-scratch the back of my head. "Something like that." 

"Trump Swords! You'd think after a few number of years, they'd take the time to change and 

to grow, but noooooo! They still have the same mundane attacks!" Piedmon gloated. That's 

when Tai, Davis and I saw screens appear all around us and the DigiDestined came into view. 

"Tai! Are you all right?" 

"Sora, I'm okay. There's no reason to worry." 

"Davis, what about you?" 

"Doing fine, Yolei. No need to get worked up about this." 

"Yet. Clown Trick!!" 

"Crimson Mist!!" 

WarGreymon and Imperialdramon were hit-hard-and were sent sprawling to the ground in 

pain. After taking multiple rounds of attacks like that, I was wondering how they were 

surviving this, and I came to the realization that they had to survive. If they were deleted, or 

reverted to Rookies, then who would protect us? Guilmon could only Digivolve as high as 

Ultimate so far, and none of us Tamers could have our Digimon Digivolve to Mega yet in 

order to help out. 

"And now, it's time for the piece de resistance. Trump Swords!!" 

"Crimson Mist!!" 

"Frozen Claw!!" 

The three attacks were spiraling toward us! I moved on pure instinct alone and pushed Tai and Davis out of the way, knowing that there wasn't much for me to go home to, but they had to 

return-if they didn't, then how could they start families, or have a chance to have a normal 

life? That's what I kept telling myself as I felt the full force of all those combined attacks hit 

me and I dropped to the ground limply.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


For some strange reason, I could still hear everybody, even though I had basically been killed. 

"Takato? Goggle head, you'd better answer me!" 

It was strange. I could hear Rika, but I couldn't do what she demanded. 

"Come on, Takato. Give us a sign that you're alive!" Henry insisted. According to Henry,Tai had walked over to where I was and felt for a pulse. 

"Notihng." 

"What do you mean 'nothing?' He's just playing games, trying to trick us. Get up, Takato!" Rika cried out with a tinge of concern. Tai looked up at that screen and gave her a glare of utter coldness and contempt. 

"Can't you get it through that thick head of yours?! Takato's DEAD! Dead: No longer living; without life; deathlike. You see? I'm gonna lay odds that you didn't care for Takato while he was alive and I'm sure I'd win that bet. Ten-to-one, you didn't care what happened to him! And, now that he's gone and out of your life, you want him back! That's just the way it is with all you tomboys, isn't it? Belittle a certain hero of Courage, then when they start to like you, stab them in the back and go out with their best friend!" Tai was ranting at that moment, not even acknowleging the fact that Sora had grasped his explanation and was struggling to keep her tears from showing. 

"All you can do is just sit there and watch as the girl you've loved for a very long time-the same girl you've saved on one occasion or another-chooses your best friend over you..." Tai made no premise at that second, but just started crying softly, not caring if anyone saw him or what. That's when a miracle occurred. Tai's Digivice glowed brightly and an orange beam came out of it and hit me square in the chest! Davis pulled out his D-3 and aimed it at me; instantly, a blue beam hit me and I glowed with that same intensity. As I was brought back, only one of the DigiDestined had one thing to say: 

"Prodigious!"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


I gasped out as I opened my eyes in pure shock, surprised that I'd been brought back! I weakly looked up and saw the other DigiDestined, then saw Rika and Henry, smiling broadly-although, with Rika, her smile was faint, but it was there. I'm sure she was telling me something, I wasn't sure what it was. I realized what had happened almost instantly. 

"Welcome back, dude!" Davis exclaimed excitedly. I couldn't hide a smile when Rika glared at Daivs and yelled out, "The name's Takato, Fire breath!" 

"If you can't defeat the Tamer, then defeat the Digimon behind the Tamer! Frozen Claw!!" 

"NO!" I stepped forward, not acknowledging the fact that my D-Arc had started glowing brightly with an orange-like color. "I won't let you hurt Rika, Guilmon, Tai, Davis or any of us anymore! You'll have to go through ME to get to them!" At that moment, I heard a strange mechanical voice say, "Power of Courage!" My D-Arc not only glowed a bright orangish color, but it enveloped me, much to the shock of everyone else. 

Digimodify! 

On pure instinct, and some unrequited knowledge, I grabbed my only card and swiped it through in one move. 

"Matrix Digivolution!" 

MATRIX DIGIVOLUION! 

I looked back through Rika and Henry's screens and saw Calumon hopping up and down, just like before, but Growlmon wasn't in the Real World this time. He yelled out, "Crystal Matrix Digivolution activate!" before collasping into Terriermon's outstretched arms. The DigiDestined watched in shock and amazement as Growlmon Digivolved to the Ultimate level in one move! 

"Growlmon Digivolve to...WARGROWLMON!!!" 

"WarGreymon, do you know what kind of Digimon that is?" Tai asked in awe. 

"No, but according to Gennai, in the future will come Digimon that not even Azulongmon will know about, and a few of them will even save the world from the dark forces that try to take it over." WarGreymon explained. 

"Cool!" Davis yelled out. 

"NO! I won't allow an Ultimate Digimon to succeed in taking away my victory!" 

"Say goodbye! Atomic..." 

"BLASTER!!" I exclaimed as WarGrowlmon launched his ultimate attack-pun not intended-and defeated Ice Devimon once again! The DigiDestined and the Tamers cheered happily as I stood there in shock, still holding my glowing D-Arc in the air. 

"Terra Force!!" 

"Positron Laser!!" 

WHAM! I looked up to see that WarGreymon and Imperialdramon's attacks had combined and deleted Piedmon and MaloMyotismon in one shot! 

"We did it! We beat those jokers again, just like before and like always!" I cried out as I slapped Davis and Tai each a high-five. Our Digimon had reverted back to Rookie mode, waiting patiently for us to quit celebrating. A second later, we disappeared and reappeared in our own respective times...I think.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


To put it bluntly, once Tai and Davis returned to their time, they were greeted by the others with 

cheers, yet Tai found Sora with a solemn look on her face. 

"Tai, I'm sorry for hurting you! I had no idea you felt like that toward me. I guess I should've told you how I felt instead, huh?" 

Tai nodded in agreement, then made a motioning move toward Matt. "Uh, what about...?" 

"Don't worry, Tai. She talked to me and explained it to me-once she realized who she truly loved." Matt explained calmly. 

Tai turned back to Sora and found hiimself locked in a kiss of pure passion-one that he didn't want to let go of. Out of the corner of his eye, Tai saw Davis and Yolei leaving, possibly going to celebrate for their first meeting. Izzy was lost in thought. Ken snapped him out of it. 

"What's wrong, Izzy?" 

"Not much, but I was wondering how Tai, Davis and that kid from the future-Takato-got to wherever they were in the first place, how Davis was able to get Veemon to Digivolve to his Ultimate and Mega levels without you and how the Tamers' D-Arcs work?" 

"Izzy, you think too much!" Matt cracked cynically. 

"I think you're going to get the chance to find out." I replied weakly as I got up from my position on the ground. The DigiDestined who were left gasped in shock and surprise that I and Guilmon were there! The question is...   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE INTO THE PAST?!!!" Rika demanded angrily, pinning Henry to the wall in a blaze of fury. 

"Calm down, Rika. Give him a chance to explain what happened." Renamon advised. 

Rika considered what she'd said, then nodded. "Okay. One chance, otherwise, I'm going back there myself to find him!" 

"Okay: You remember how Takato was glowing when he stood up against Ice Devimon on his own? Well, that must've created some sort of link between the three of them-meaning Tai, Davis and Takato. That link alone must've pulled Takato back into the past instead of his rightful time." Henry explained, despite the fact that he could barely breathe. 

"Then we're gonna use these D-Arcs and get him back! He's got some explaining to do, and he's the only one to give answers that make some kind of sense." Rika declared. 

"If you're planning what I think you're planning, then I'd better stay. It would be a good idea for at least one of us to stay here and be able to bring you both back. I'll have his coordinates on here in no time." Rika sighed with impatience and a tinge of worry as she sat down next to Renamon and did what was hard for a Tamer or a DigiDestined-she waited.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Looking up at Henry's house, Yamaki smirked with a smile filled with darkness. 

"The plan worked. One down, two to go. You know what they say, kiddies: 'For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name, he marks-not that you won or lost-but how you played the game...'"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Shackled in your arms of Love

Me: Hey 

Me: Hey! I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Vertical Horizon's "Shackled." About time I used this song in one of my stories…

Tai: Let me guess-you had plans to use it, but you never followed through with it, right? 

Takato: (smirks) Like the way you did with Sora? 

Tai: Shut up. At least I'm with her now! 

Me: Barely…before these two kill each other, I'm gonna get to the story while I have a chance. 

****

Digimon

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers 

Part III: Shackled in your arms of Love

__

For so long my life's been sewn up tight inside your hold

And it leaves me there without a place to call my own…

It's been a week since Guilmon and I'd been thrown into the timeline of the original DigiDestined. I'd been helping Izzy with his tests on my D-Arc, but I found myself thinking about Rika more often than not as the days went by. Ever since that dream I had the day I met Guilmon, I couldn't stop thinking about her! I felt connected to her, even her bossy side. But ever since this, I felt alone and confused. Sure, it was great to meet the DigiDestined for real, but it wasn't all that enjoyable as I thought it would be. Nothing made sense anymore, not as long as Rika wasn't there…I struggled to hold in my tears of resentment, as I remained hidden in the computer room of the Odaiba Elementary School. Rika wouldn't have cried in a situation like this, so I _had _to be strong! If not for myself, then for her. 

__

I know now what shadows can see; there's no point in running 'less you run with me 

It's half the distance through the open door before you cut me down…again

Let me introduce you to the end

"What's the holdup? It's been over a week since Takato disappeared, and you still haven't been able to find him! I thought it would be easy for you to lock onto his coordinates from here." Rika was close to hitting something, possibly Henry, so he typed frantically. 

"It's a little bit more complicated than I thought! The regular way we could keep in touch was by our D-Arcs, but since Takato isn't in the area-or in the correct timeline-I'm going to have to start from where he was last seen at." Henry explained. 

"And that would mean the skies, right?" Rika asked cynically. 

"Noooo-from a point in-between space and time, like the space-time continuum." 

Rika shivered at that moment, turning around and seeing Renamon appear next to an opened window. Grinning slightly, she closed the window swiftly. 

"Any luck?" Rika asked softly. 

"None. If he did return, I didn't see him." Henry grimaced as he heard Rika's sigh of helplessness. 

__

"Takato, you've gotta come back! Don't you realize what you're doing to the team? It's just like when Tai vanished-things are breaking up all because you're not here!" Henry thought to himself. 

__

And I feel the cold wind blowing beneath my wings; it always leads me back to suffering 

But I will soar until the wind whips me down, leaves me beaten on holy ground again…

"Are you doing okay?" I looked up to see the first DigiDestined of Love-Sora Takenouchi, waiting with a smile of concern on her face. I nodded grimly and looked back outside through the window, where clouds had formed. 

"I never thought saving the world would mean having to give up chances of a normal life, or losing the one person you care about due to a stupid mistake." I explained calmly, despite the tears that were now streaking down my cheeks. Sora nodded and listened with patience. 

"I start the day out, strong as I could feel, determined to live life to the fullest. It ends with me feeling like a loser, even to my friends-if I can call Rika a friend. It feels like a waste that she leaves me in this time without trying to find me-even with Henry's help, no doubt!" I cried out sadly. Sora simply stood there, hanging on to every word I said. 

"I can't let her shackle me up like this! If she bleeds because of me, all the better." I muttered as I sank to my knees. Sora bent down and held me close, determined not to let me go through this alone. 

__

So tired now of paying my dues, I start out strong but then I always lose

It's half the distance before you leave me behind

It's such a waste of time

Chorus: 'Cause my shackles you won't be! 

And my rapture you won't believe

And deep inside you will bleed for me…

"You remind me so much of Tai at a time like this…" I stopped crying and looked into Sora's eyes, trying to find any hint that she could be lying. I couldn't. 

"Tai's always holding on to his dreams, no matter how broken up or split into two they are. Why do you think we're together right now? Because he didn't give up on me or to his dreams." 

"Then go to him." I advised. Sora looked down at me, confused. 

"I'm serious. I don't belong here in this time. I don't need the power of love to keep me alive. I don't need you to keep my faith in Rika or myself alive. Tai does. So, go to him." I insisted tiredly. 

"She doesn't need to, 'cause I'm already here and you need to learn patience and to think with your head and not with your heart. Although thinking with your heart helps you out in some cases." Tai joked as he came in on the two of us. That's when the skies darkened. The three of us looked up as a Digital field opened up and a very familiar Digimon stepped through. I groaned as Guilmon, Biyomon and Agumon came in from the kitchen. 

"How is it that no matter where I go, trouble always seems to find me?!" 

__

So here I slave inside of a broken dream, forever holding on to splitting seams 

So take your place and leave me alone to die; I don't need you to keep my faith alive

I know now what trouble can be and why it follows me so easily 

It's half the distance through the open door before you shut me down again…

Let me introduce you to the end

"I've done it! I found him." Rika was at Henry's side at in instant, peering at the computer screen. 

"So, where is he?" 

"He appears to be at the Odaiba Elementary School. Oh no! A Digimon's arrived there through a Digital field." Henry's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the Digimon. 

"I think Takato's in big trouble! If you're gonna go after him, now's the time." Henry insisted. Nodding, Rika pulled out her D-Arc and cards while Renamon came to her side with Calumon riding on her back. 

"Why are you coming with us?" Rika asked impatiently, eager to get moving. 

"Takato and Guilmon might need me. So, wherever you guys go, I go!" Rika sighed as Henry finally got things set up. 

"There! Now get going and bring him back, preferably in one piece. Rika?" Confused, Rika turned back around toward Henry, who smiled with ease.   
"I know you care about him in a way beyond friendship. I saw it before in your eyes. If I were you, I'd tell him before he did something like he did when he tried to protect Tai and Davis." A light blush crossed Rika's cheeks, but she turned back around and prepared to go through the portal, saying to herself, "Whatever." 

__

Chorus: 'Cause my shackles you won't be! 

And my rapture you won't believe

And deep inside you will bleed for me

The three of us quickly ran out to where the Digimon was at, not believing what had just happened! 

"It's Black WarGreymon! But, why's he back? I thought he'd sacrificed himself by creating a barrier at Highton View Terrace." Tai exclaimed as Agumon, Biyomon and Guilmon came up. 

"It's a safe bet that's a different one than the one you guys faced. This one's pure evil with his Terra Destroyer attack." I cautioned calmly. 

"The Hero of Courage-where is he?!" the Mega Digimon demanded impatiently. 

Tai stepped up with Agumon by his side. "What do you want?" 

"Not YOU!" WHAM! Before any of us knew what had happened, Black WarGreymon moved with precise speed, ramming into Tai and sending him and Agumon to the ground! 

"Tai!" Sora ran over to him, worried of the outcome. Tai weakly got to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. 

"I'm fine. If you're not looking for me, then what do you want with Davis?" 

"Ha! I'm not looking for him, either. The one I want is…YOU!" Black WarGreymon eyed his opponents until he finally laid eyes on me. 

"Me?! What do you want with me?" I demanded, prepared to use my one Matrix Digivolution card if necessary. 

"I want to battle with your partner. Even if you can only Digivolve to Ultimate, with the attacks at your disposal, you could be a worthy adversary. When I couldn't find you in the future, I used my powers to track you and to my surprise, you end up here!" 

"Life's just full of surprises." I cracked as the other DigiDestined finally arrived. 

"What took you guys so long?" Sora asked heatedly. 

"It took Izzy and Ken a while to figure out where you guys were, and when they realized that Black WarGreymon was here, we got here as fast as we could." Matt said. 

At that moment, another Digital field opened, but instead of a Digimon coming through, it was…

"Rika? What are you doing here?" 

"Trying to save you from whatever evil's going to destroy you. Now catch!" That's when things went south. Just as I caught the cards Rika tossed to me, Black WarGreymon tackled Guilmon and me, sending the three of us into the air! 

"I did not come all the way back in time to be defeated by _two _of you Tamers! Let's battle where it's less crowded." Before I could object, the Digimon shot off into the skies with Guilmon and me while the other DigiDestined could do nothing but watch helplessly. 

"Takato, come back!" I heard Rika's plaintive cry, but could do nothing about it. As she faded into the distance, I was sure I saw tears grazing her eyes…

__

Though you know you care…

Chorus: 'Cause my shackles you won't be! 

And my rapture you won't believe

And deep inside you will bleed for me

And my laughter you won't hear the faster I disappear

And time will burn your eyes…


	4. Holding down the fort while at home; Tak...

Me: Okay, folks, my computer screwed up and only showed you part of Chap 

Me: Okay, folks, my computer screwed up and only showed you part of Chap. IV, so here's another try to replace it! I don't own Digimon-Seasons I-III-nor do I own "Let's Kick It Up" from the Digimon soundtrack. This chapter is dedicated to Ruki Makino, who offered to lend me some advice on how to do this chapter. True, it may not be what you expected, but when it comes to Tamers, I'm like Takato-have to relearn everything about the world of Digimon all over again-

Rika: You're rambling. Why can't you just tell people you don't own Digimon and get to the story? 

Takato: Calm down, Rika! He just wanted people to know what happened to his computer and-

Rika: Was I talking to _you_, gogglehead? No, I don't think so! 

Me: (sighs) I'm gonna get to the story before these two start arguing! 

****

Digimon

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers

Part IV: Holding down the fort while at home; Takato's battle with Darkness

"Well Terriermon, they're both gone now. Let's just kick back and relax until we get a signal from either one of them." Henry suggested calmly. 

"Henry, there's a Digimon nearby!" 

"What? Where?" Henry picked up his D-Power and looked at it. Sure enough, it was showing the way to a Digimon. 

"Well, whaddya know? Where are your pals, bunny boy? Are they playing hide and seek, or did you three come to the realization what kind of losers you all really are?" Henry and Terriermon groaned impatiently as Impmon, our regular pain in the rear, showed up outside of his window. 

"We don't have time to deal with you! Either help us take on this Digimon that's appeared out of nowhere or leave us alone for once!" Henry yelled as he and Terriermon bolted out of his room. 

"Sheesh, I was just gonna tell you guys that your new play toy's near the outskirts of town, but does anybody listen to me? I didn't think so! Does anyone thank me? Nope! Bada-boom!" 

"Why'd you come for me?! Rika's just as powerful as I am, maybe even more so than me! Henry's probably more powerful than her, since he was the first of us Tamers to have his Digimon Digivolve to the Champion level!" I exclaimed as Black WarGreymon carried Guilmon and me toward what looked like Mt. Fuji. 

"Simple-because you were the last Tamer to have his Digimon Digivolve to the Champion level, yet were the first Tamer to have his Digimon Digivolve to the Ultimate level. And, out of all the DigiDestined and Tamers, you were the _only _one to create your Digimon partner. _That's _what separates you from everyone else!" Black WarGreymon explained. 

"That's real sweet, but now it's time for Guilmon and me to be going!" I growled as I managed to grab one of the cards that Rika had tossed me and swiped it as best I could while trapped in the Mega Digimon's ironclad grip. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Invisibility Shield activate!" I demanded. As I grabbed hold of Guilmon's tail, the two of us disappeared in a beam of light! Black WarGreymon grunted in surprise and slight admiration as he cautiously searched the area for my presence. 

"Impressive. _Most _impressive." 

"You haven't seen anything yet!" I replied as Guilmon and I reappeared at the base of Mt. Fuji, primed for battle. 

__

"This was where Tai and Agumon engaged Black WarGreymon in a final battle! If it weren't for Imperialdramon's entrance, Tai's partner probably wouldn't be here right now." I thought to myself as I grabbed another card. 

"Ready, Takatomon?" 

"Ready, and stop calling me 'Takatomon!'" 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" 

__

Digivolution! 

"Guilmon Digivolve to…GROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

Black WarGreymon expected a good battle, even though Growlmon was only a Champion Digimon. I wasn't one to disappoint people-or Digimon-unless it was necessary. 

"Whoa! Someone just Digivolved near that big hill and I think it was Guilmon!" Calumon cried out as Rika, Renamon and the DigiDestined crowded around him. 

"You mean Mt. Fuji?" Davis asked. 

"Uh-huh! That's the one-right there!" 

"Come on, Renamon-Takato needs me-I mean us, to help him out! Good thing I didn't give him all of my cards." Rika noted to herself as she turned away from the DigiDestined while hiding her face, since it now blushed crimson. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" 

__

Digivolution! 

"Renamon Digivolve to…KYUBIMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

"We're helping you guys out, so don't try to stop us!" Tai demanded as he and the DigiDestined flew off in Imperialdramon. 

__

"Just don't get between me, Black WarGreymon and Gogglehead, and I won't." Rika thought to herself as she made sure Calumon was secure before heading in the same direction I had headed not too long ago. 

"There-that's where the Digital Field is! And there's the Digimon!" Henry yelled as the Digital Field closed. Henry gulped once he saw the Digimon, because he had recognized him too. 

"Terriermon, we're in big trouble! That's SkullGreymon, a Virus-type Digimon at the Ultimate level. With his Dark Shot attack, he's dangerous! I'm not sure if even a Mega Digimon could take him out." Henry explained grimly. 

"_Momentai_, Henry. We'll never know unless we try, right?" 

"I guess so, and you pick the strangest times to say that word…" 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" 

__

Digivolution! 

"Terriermon Digivolve to…GARGOMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

"Okay, Gargomon-give it your best shot!" Henry advised as Gargomon prepared to do battle with SkullGreymon. 

"PyroBlaster!!" WHAM! Growlmon's main attack didn't do much damage to Black WarGreymon, unless you consider a scorched piece of armor damage. 

"And I thought I had reason to fear you. This'll be much easier than I imagined it to be. Terra Destroyer!!" 

I jumped in front of Growlmon and pulled out yet another one of Rika's cards. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! WarGreymon Brave Shield activate!" I demanded as WarGreymon's shield of Courage appeared. Growlmon quickly used it to send Black WarGreymon's attack flying into the sky. 

"_This _is why you were known to be one of the best-these multiple attacks you keep using. I must admit, none of my foes have ever lasted this long in a battle against me. But the time for games has ended!" 

"You got that right." I muttered as I prepared to use my only card once again. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution!" 

__

Matrix Digivolution! 

"Growlmon Digivolve to…WARGROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

Black WarGreymon chuckled as WarGrowlmon appeared, holding on tightly to the shield of Courage. 

"The infamous WarGrowlmon. You haven't made much of a name for yourself, although you have defeated at least one of the Devas. I will be honored to absorb your data." 

__

"What this guy doesn't need to know is that we still _haven't defeated all of them yet! There's still-how many? About 7 or 6 remaining?" _I thought worriedly. 

"You're not absorbing any Digimon's date when we get through with you! Kyubimon?" 

"Ready, Rika. Foxtail Inferno!!" 

I turned and smiled broadly as Rika, Calumon and Kyubimon came in. Kyubimon's main attack forced Black WarGreymon back a few feet, but didn't do much else. 

"It feels like an attack sent from a Rookie Digimon. Terra Destroyer!!" 

"Rika, look out!" I exclaimed as she quickly grabbed a card that she hadn't given me and swiped it in one move. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Black WarGreymon Shield activate!" 

"_That's _gotta be a new card!" I cracked as Black WarGreymon's shield appeared in front of Kyubimon, but didn't have the symbol of Courage emblazoned on it. Rika used it to send Black WarGreymon's attack right back at him! 

__

Let's kick it up and show them all the things we can do! 

Let's kick it up another notch tomorrow! 

"Nice shot Rika!" I said calmly while avoiding her steely gaze. 

"Really gave him a hot foot!" Calumon laughed. Rika and I both eyed him with looks of astonishment. 

"Atomic Blaster!!" 

Black WarGreymon was sent to the ground in one move. Growling, he started to prepare another Terra Destroyer attack, but then decided against it. 

"Know this, hero of Courage-this is _far_ from over!" Black WarGreymon said as he vanished into the sky. 

__

Let's kick it up 'cause they ain't seen the last of me and you! 

A few minutes later, Imperialdramon landed and Tai and the DigiDestined came out, ready for battle. 

"What gives? Weren't you behind us when we were on our way here?" Davis asked with that same blank look on his face that he usually has. 

"Let's just say…Kyubimon and I _sped _our way through hurdles to get to the opposing obstacle and the captured piece." Rika replied as I noticed a card I hadn't seen before-the Hyper Speed card, clutched tightly in her hand. 

__

Let's kick it up…together…together…

"Gargo Lasers!!" Gargomon's attack bounced off of SkullGreymon's uh…skin and bones as he swatted him away with one hand. 

"Don't give up, Gargomon! All we need to do is hold down the fort until Takato and Rika get back here-and one of them tells the other how they feel!" Henry said under his breath as Gargomon managed to get back up. 

"That was a cheap shot, you bag of bones! Bunny Pummel!!" That attack had less of an impact than Gargomon's other attack. 

"Come on, Gargomon-let's kick it up a notch!" Henry declared as he pulled out one of his cards. 

"Dark Shot!!" 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution!" 

__

Matrix Digivolution! 

"Gargomon Digivolve to…RAPIDMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

Henry smiled as Rapidmon avoided the attack-barely-and stood just as tall as SkullGreymon did. 

"Okay, Rapidmon-show SkullGreymon exactly what you're made of!" 


	5. The return of Daemon

Me: This is me-I don't own Digimon, as usual 

Me: This is me-I don't own Digimon, as usual. Why? Beats me, I just don't. Here's where things get a little out of hand for the DigiDestined _and _the Tamers to handle! 

Takato: And just what do you mean by that? 

Me: (smirks) If I told you, that'd just ruin the story. And I plan to use Renamon's Japanese name for her Ultimate form. 

Rika: (enters in and puts me in a headlock) If I were _you_, I'd at least tell Gogglehead the synopsis of the story! 

Me: (gasping for breath) If you'll let go of my head…I'll let you know, okay?! (Rika releases my head) Finally! You guys face a certain Digimon once again, as well as someone else who was thought to be defeated earlier, but returned to enact vengeance. 

(breathes in and out) And I thought Gatomon had a tough temper…

****

Digimon

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers

Part V: The return of Daemon

__

"It doesn't matter whether you win or lose-it matters if you can drag the other guy down with you." –Hilton Lucas, _Cosby _

"Well, it seemed like a really good idea at the time!" –Takato Matsuki, _The Saga of the Devas_

Henry's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Rapidmon and SkullGreymon who were only mere seconds from battling each other. 

__

"The question is, which one will make the first move-Rapidmon or SkullGreymon?" Henry thought calmly. 

"Rapid Fire!!" WHAM! Rapidmon's attack actually caused SkullGreymon some damage! 

"Way to go, Rapidmon! Keep it up-you're doing great!" Henry exclaimed happily. 

"Dark Shot!!" Henry gasped as SkullGreymon's main attack headed straight for Rapidmon! 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Hyper Speed activate!" 

Within seconds, Rapidmon avoided the missile attack and prepared to launch another attack of his own. 

"Tri-Beam!!" 

That attack was enough to defeat SkullGreymon for good! 

"Nice job, Rapidmon! Now, let's get home and try to figure out a way to bring Takato and Rika back." 

"I can't believe we've got to spend our summer vacation in this place! Is this what kids have to eat? I'd much rather eat dirt." I couldn't help but laugh. After spending what seemed to be a few days hiding in the Elementary school with Rika, I'd gotten used to her attitude-not like I wasn't already used to it, but it was growing on me. 

"There's probably a store somewhere down the street, but seeing as how it's nighttime, I really don't think any of the good stores are open at a time like this." I responded calmly. 

"After spending a week in this place Takato, I've gotta know-what was it like?" Rika asked. That struck me as weird. Rika had rarely gone out of her way to ask questions like that to me! But, I wasn't about to tell her the truth-that without her or her seemingly bad attitude around, it wouldn't have mattered what it was like. So, I decided to tell her a half-truth. 

"Oh, it was…stimulating. I helped Izzy analyze my D-Power, Guilmon hung out with Agumon whenever Tai would stop by and just chatted with the DigiDestined. Why do you ask?" 

Now Rika was in the hot seat. I noticed that she tensed up for a few seconds, then visibly relaxed. "Just curious, that's all. I mean, it's not like I was worried about _you_ or anything." 

"Right. Well, good night, Rika." I said as I crouched down, pulled my goggles off of my head and prepared to go to sleep. 

"Good night, Gogglehead." 

Speaking of Tai, he was still up, searching the skies like he normally did when he knew something was going to happen. 

"What's wrong, Tai?" Kari asked as she came out onto the balcony outside of Tai's room. 

"I don't know. Something's going to happen, and it's going to happen soon. Why else would Takato and Rika have come here to help us out-or in Takato's case, be pulled here to help us out?" Tai noted grimly. 

"I don't know, but whatever's coming, I can see by the look on your face that we've got to be ready." Kari said. 

"Right, and so do Takato and Rika. If I'm right about this, we're not the targets, only the Tamers. The problem is, since we're sided with them, whoever's come to take them out is obviously going to take us out, so we can't be a problem anymore. We're ready for anything, and so are you guys. I just hope the Tamers have enough experience to handle whatever's coming." 

"Come on, let's play! I'll hide and you come find me." Rika and I smiled as Calumon ran toward the kitchen and attempted to hide from Guilmon the following morning. 

"Okay, here I come!" Guilmon sniffed the air for Calumon's presence, then raced off toward the kitchen. 

"5…4…3…2…1!" I counted down the precise second when Calumon would be found. 

"Ha! I found-whoaaaaaaa!" CRASH! Rika and I both grimaced slightly as Guilmon crashed into what sounded like some pots and pans. 

"That sounded like it would hurt!" I cracked as Rika and I raced to the kitchen.   
"Probably not. Guilmon's just like you-born with a hard head, a thick skull and not much else." 

"Very funny." 

"Hey, guys! I've got some news that I think may cheer you both up." Izzy replied as he came in with Tentomon buzzing behind him. 

"Don't keep us in suspense-what is it?" I asked impatiently. 

"Guess who's finally made contact with us?" Izzy asked as he turned his laptop on and turned the screen toward us. 

"Henry!" I cried out excitedly, pleased to see him and Terriermon after so long. 

__

"Takato! Glad to see Rika didn't kill you when she got there." 

"Funny. Do you have any suggestions on how Takato and I can get home?" Rika said. 

__

"Not yet. It'll take Izzy and me some time to work out the calculations and get a proper Digital Field running." 

"Just one question-why couldn't you do that from here? That way, we'll be at full strength." I advised. 

__

"I've tried that, but the system that I initiated to get Rika, Renamon and Calumon there in the first place has been erased from my computer!" 

"Henry, what's this file for?" Izzy, Rika and I all sweatdropped as Terriermon accidentally clicked on the mouse and opened a Digital Field! 

__

"Terriermon, what did I tell you about asking before you go and use other people's stuff?!"   
"Well, look on the bright side-you'll be able to help us out and be able to do research while you're here!" I laughed. 

__

"I'll talk to you guys when I get there! Hold on, Terriermon!" Within seconds, Henry and Terriermon vanished inside the Digital Field and Izzy's laptop clicked off. 

"I wonder how long it'll take him to get here?" I spoke out loud to nobody in particular. A second later, a Digital Field opened above my head and Terriermon and Henry crash-landed on top of me! 

"About 2.3 seconds, but who's counting?" Rika replied. I shot an irritating glance at her and struggled to get Henry and Terriermon off of me. 

"You actually had a battle against SkullGreymon and won?!" I exclaimed in shock, barely able to keep myself from falling over. 

"That's right. It took Rapidmon some time to deDigivolve back to Terriermon, so we just hung out at Guilmon's place until he did." Henry concluded. 

"If this Digimon was at the outskirts of town, how'd you find out about it?" 

Henry closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them. "Impmon." 

"That guy picks the strangest times to show himself, doesn't he?" I noted calmly. 

"You mean the _worst _times, Takato." Rika said. 

That's when things took a turn for the worst. I saw Black WarGreymon appear out of the corner of my eye, plus a Digital Field opened and a Digimon came out! 

"Guys, we've got trouble! Black WarGreymon's here and so's another Digimon!" 

"What?" Rika and Henry turned toward the window and my suspicions were confirmed. 

"Isn't that Piedmon?"   
"I thought you and Tai took care of him in that other world!" Rika insisted. 

"Digimon aren't like us, Rika-they can come back and reconfigure themselves whenever it's possible to do so." 

Guilmon, Terriermon, Calumon and Renamon came in a few moments later. 

"Trouble, Rika?" Renamon asked. 

"You could say that. I've always disliked clowns, but this guy takes the cake!" 

"Then why are we standing here while those two wreak havoc on this world? Henry, call Tai and the others while Rika and I take down these two!" 

"Hero of Courage-you don't know what a pleasure it is to see you again." Black WarGreymon rumbled as Rika and I came out with Guilmon, Renamon and Calumon behind us. 

"You don't know how little I give a hoot! What are you doing back here?" I demanded angrily. 

"It's time for our battle. And _this_ time…" 

"Clown Trick!!" I turned around and pushed Rika to the ground as Piedmon's attack whizzed right past her and covered the entire area! 

"I'm alright, Takato. You can get up now." 

Nodding, I turned back around to see Black WarGreymon an inch from my face. 

__

"This time…we're playing for _keeps_!" 

"Get away from him!" 

__

Digivolution! 

"Renamon Digivolve to…KYUBIMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

A second later, Kyubimon flew in and knocked Black WarGreymon down with one shot, even though he got back up. 

"Thanks, Rika." I said as I went to grab one of my cards. 

"Don't get used to it! I only did that because he's a Mega Digimon and you wouldn't have stood a chance against him." I managed to hide my smile as I saw the worried look on Rika's face. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" I yelled out. 

__

Digivolution! 

"Guilmon Digivolve to…GROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

With a growl, Black WarGreymon tossed Kyubimon to the ground and prepared to face Growlmon. 

"Like I said, I don't want to face _two _Tamers-just the one labeled as Courage." 

"You wanna take me on? Give it your best shot!" 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Power activate!" A second later, Growlmon roared as his strength and power tripled! 

"PyroBlaster!!" 

The Mega Digimon grunted in surprise as the attack caused him some damage. As for Kyubimon, she took on Piedmon. 

"Dragon Wheel!!" 

"For a Champion Digimon, you are extremely powerful. Trump Swords!!" 

"Watch out, Kyubimon!" Rika warned as she avoided the deadly sword attack. 

"I'm alright, Rika. Foxtail Inferno!!" 

Piedmon chuckled as the attack bounced off his sword and scattered around him. 

As for Henry, he and Terriermon managed to get ahold of Tai, Sora, Davis, Matt, Ken, Yolei, Kari and Izzy. 

"I don't get it! What happened to everybody else?" Davis asked impatiently. 

"T.K. and Cody are on the way, and so are Mimi and Joe. They'll get there as soon as they can." Matt explained. 

"It's not gonna be soon enough for Takato and Rika." Terriermon replied. 

WHAM! Growlmon and Kyubimon were sent sprawling to the ground-hard-while Black WarGreymon and Piedmon stood there in success. 

"We're not through yet! We'll never give up-never!" I declared defiantly as I grabbed a card and swiped it in one move. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution!" 

At that second, the gem on top of Calumon's head glowed brightly and shot upward into the sky with a red beam. 

__

Matrix Digivolution! 

"Growlmon Digivolve to…WARGROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

WarGrowlmon stood back up with ease and glared at Black WarGreymon. 

"That was a cheap shot! Try _this _on for size-Atomic Blaster!!" 

Black WarGreymon growled in slight pain as WarGrowlmon's main attack caused him some more pain! 

"You are truly worthy of the symbol of Courage. Terra Destroyer!!" I steeled myself as the attack came hurtling straight for me! 

"Takato, look out!" Rika cried out as she dived and tackled me to the ground. I felt the wind being kicked out of me, but managed to see Calumon send another beam of energy into the sky. WarGrowlmon fell to the ground once again, in extreme pain. 

__

Matrix Digivolution! 

"Kyubimon Digivolve to…TAOMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

Rika pulled me up and smiled broadly as the two of us gazed at her new Ultimate Digimon. "What do you know? Taomon-an Ultimate Digimon! And she came into existence all because you saved me from that Digimon's attack." I said calmly. 

"Less talk, more action." Rika replied. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Hyper Speed activate!" Rika yelled out. Taomon sped up and struck Piedmon on the face. 

"A cheap shot. Clown Trick!!" Once that attack hit Taomon, she dropped to the ground and deDigivolved back to Renamon. 

"Don't you go anywhere near them!" I demanded as Rika and I both crouched down and got into a fighting stance. 

"The battle is ours. Move out of our way, or we shall dispose of you as well." 

"You'll have to try!" Rika retorted angrily. 

"Terra Force!!" 

"Positron Laser!!" 

"Gargo Lasers!!" 

Rika, Renamon, Calumon, WarGrowlmon and I turned to see WarGreymon, Imperialdramon and Gargomon enter in, with Henry and the DigiDestined behind them. 

"What took you guys so long?" Rika yelled out. 

"It took some time to find the others, so give us a break!" Henry insisted. 

A few moments later, the skies darkened and a chill went through the air. Black WarGreymon and Piedmon stood there patiently, and waited. 

"Guys, what's going on?" I asked as Tai and the others came up toward Rika and me. 

Tai would've responded, but Kari interrupted him with a sense of knowledge. 

"Tai, that time you were talking about has come." 

****

"Very impressive, Tamers, DigiDestined." 

The DigiDestined grimaced with anger, as if they expected this Digimon to appear. I steeled myself, having a feeling of foreboding of whoever was going to show up, but waited with patience. 

****

"Together, you are strong. Even apart, you've shown tremendous bravery. But, can you deal with…me?" 

Tai, Davis and I stepped up in front of our friends and prepared ourselves for a major battle…


	6. A Sacrifice of Love

Me: I don't own Digimon 

Me: I don't own Digimon! There-you happy?! 

Takato: Calm down! Man, with that attitude, you're even worse than Rika. 

Rika: I doubt that, but Takato's got a point. 

Me/Takato: Huh? Are you serious? 

Rika: First time for everything. 

Takato: Uh…

Me: (smirks) I'll leave you two alone now. I also don't own "My Tomorrow" from Megchan's site. To the story! 

****

Digimon

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers 

Part VI: A Sacrifice of Love

__

"Are you in love with me, loverboy?" –Rika Nonaka

__

"Besides, it's not everyday you get to meet your dream girl…" –Takato Matsuki

With narrowed eyes, Tai, Davis and I stood our ground and awaited Daemon's appearance. 

"Are you guys ready?" Tai demanded. Davis and I both nodded, ready for action. Technically, I was the leader of the Tamers, but Tai had precedence over me since he had led the original DigiDestined to victory against Apocalymon so long ago. 

****

"Battling against so many DigiDestined and Tamers could tire one out…let's even out the odds, shall we?" Before any of us could react, tiny, miniature black balls hovered in the air and headed for us! 

"Get down!" Tai yelled as he immediately tackled Sora and Kari, sending them both down to the ground. Likewise, I did the same with Rika. The problem was that the balls weren't heading for us, or the Digimon. They all wedged themselves inside our Digivices, with the exception of mine, Davis' and Tai's. 

"What gives? What are those things supposed to do, anyway?" Davis asked. 

"I'm not sure. It'll take some time for me to figure out what those things are." Izzy said as he got onto his laptop and started working out some calculations. Henry was by his side in an instant. 

"You're gonna need some help, so let me try." 

I turned and saw that WarGrowlmon and Gargomon had both deDigivolved back to Guilmon and Terriermon! Imperialdramon and WarGreymon had both deDigivolved, too! 

"Man, what else could go wrong today?!" Davis exclaimed. _That's _when it happened…The skies grew even darker than what they had been before. A portal suddenly opened up above our heads and a Digimon was revealed! After pulling my goggles over my eyes, I gaped in shock at seeing two Digimon inside the portal. 

Rika chose that time to glare at Davis. "Next time, don't ask stupid questions like that!" 

****

"Tamers…you have absolutely no idea what a pleasure it is to finally meet you." I gulped in amazement as Rika unconsciously grabbed my hand with hers and held on to it tightly. We all knew who this Digimon was, but were surprised that he had come back. 

"Excuse me, but I'm not with the Tamers, so could you give us at least a hint of who you are?" Davis yelled out. I groaned as I picked up Calumon, making sure that he wasn't caught in the crossfire of whatever was about to happen. 

****

"Certainly, although none of you will be around long enough to remember. The name is Apocalymon…" 

"I thought the DigiDestined destroyed you over 4 years ago!" I growled, making a fist with my hand as Black WarGreymon and Piedmon both got in front of me; Rika pulled me back gently a moment later. 

****

"They did, but if it wasn't for Daemon's appearance, I would still be in limbo. Oh, I have plans for you second-rate characters, but as of now, we only require the heroes of Courage." 

"What is it with Digimon always wanting to battle with the three of us?" Davis ranted impatiently. 

"It makes sense, if you think about it. You, Tai and Takato are the most powerful out of all of us. Naturally, any evil Digimon would want to test the leader's strength. If the leader is defeated or, heaven forbid, destroyed, the remaining teammates are ripe for picking." Henry explained while struggling to find out what the black balls were that had invaded their Digivices. 

"Oh, _that _makes me feel a lot better." I muttered under my breath. 

****

"We no longer require your services, so if you please-Death Claw!!" Before Black WarGreymon and Piedmon could move, Apocalymon's main attack struck the two of them and they were deleted right where they stood! 

"If you wanna take over this world, you're gonna have to get past us!" Tai growled as he pulled out his Digivice. 

"Agumon Warp-Digivolve to…WARGREYMON!!!" 

"Yeah, 'cause there's no way we're gonna let you jerks destroy everything we hold dear!" Davis added as he grabbed his D3. 

"Veemon Digivolve to…EXVEEMON!!! ExVeemon Digivolve to…PAILDRAMON!!! Paildramon Mega Digivolve to…IMPERIALDRAMON!!! Imperialdramon Mode Change to…FIGHTER MODE!!!" 

"Guys, let's take 'em by the numbers!" I advised with a wicked grin on my face as I pulled out my D-Power and a card. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" I yelled out. 

__

Digivolution! 

"Guilmon Digivolve to…GROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

"Come on, guys-let's help them out!" Rika insisted as she grabbed her D-Power and a card. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!" Rika demanded. 

A beam of light shot out of Rika's D-Power, but nothing happened! 

"What? Renamon, why didn't you Digivolve?" 

"Got it! Those black balls are known as Darkness Gems. They infect a Digivice and prevent a Digimon from Digivolving." Izzy explained. 

"Yep. That's why Renamon-or any of our Digimon-won't be able to Digivolve until either Tai or the others defeat Daemon or Apocalymon, or…" Henry stopped. 

"Until what?" 

"For the second one to occur, we'd need a miracle." 

****

"I tire of this-Death Claw!!" 

This one surprised everyone! The claws grabbed Tai Davis, and me and yanked us all into the portal-while I was _still _holding Calumon! Then, three more shot out and grabbed Growlmon, WarGreymon and Imperialdramon, and pulled them in after us! 

__

Come on-this time, let's run to a place not on any map

There's nothing to be afraid of 

A small breast, filled only with courage, alone in the rain

My pockets are empty, but I'm only looking ahead 

"Calumon, you alright?" I asked as I felt the little Digimon shaking in my arms. 

"This place isn't anywhere near home! Wherever this is, it's dark and scary. I wanna go back home!" I put Calumon down, but made sure that he was near me. 

"There's no need to be afraid. Tai's here, Davis is here and I'm here. We're not gonna let anything happen to you. Right, guys?" I noted calmly. Tai and Davis both nodded. 

****

"Touching, but none of you will go home. Evil Inferno!!" 

"Death Claw!!" 

Davis, Tai, WarGreymon, Imperialdramon, Growlmon, Calumon and I all separated to avoid those deadly attacks! 

"PyroBlaster!!" As I suspected, Growlmon's attack had no effect on Apocalymon. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Power activate!" I demanded. Growlmon's attack tripled and when he fired off a second PyroBlaster attack, Apocalymon felt the burn! 

****

"As Black WarGreymon himself stated, 'Impressive.' But that alone won't be nearly enough to save you!" 

"You haven't felt his full power!" I retorted as I grabbed my Matrix Digivolution card and swiped it quickly. The gem on top of Calumon's head glowed brightly and a beam of red light hit Growlmon seconds after that! 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution, activate!" 

__

Matrix Digivolution! 

"Growlmon Digivolve to…WARGROWLMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

As WarGrowlmon engaged Apocalymon, I looked over and saw that Tai and Davis were holding their own against Daemon. 

"Terra Force!!" 

"Positron Laser!!" 

The two attacks hit their mark and an amazing explosion sounded, causing us all to cover our ears. When the smoke cleared, Daemon was still standing, without a scratch on him! 

"Unbelievable!" Davis cried out. 

"That's not possible." Tai insisted. 

__

"We need the others. Even leaders know-when you're outnumbered, you always call for backup." I thought grimly. 

__

I knock on the door of the unknown and advance, advance to the other side of the world

I won't waver any longer! 

"That's it! I'm going in there and bringing them out!" Rika started forward with Renamon by her when Sora and Yolei stopped her. 

"Not without us, you're not." Smiling faintly, Rika jumped inside the portal with Renamon, Sora, Biyomon, Yolei and Hawkmon, which effectively left the others outside. 

"Why aren't we going in there to help them?" Matt asked. 

"Because of two reasons: One, our Digimon, as well as theirs, aren't able to Digivolve beyond the Rookie level-or in Gatomon's case, beyond Champion. I assume that we'll need extra firepower to sufficiently defeat Daemon and Apocalymon. Just give me a minute to go online…" The DigiDestined waited as Henry and Izzy did some quick calculations and computations. 

As for Tai, Davis and myself, we were nearing the edge of our rope. Not even WarGrowlmon's attack was helping out. Daemon and Apocalymon stood over us in victory. 

"Game over?" Calumon asked me worriedly.

"Not by a long shot!" The four of us turned and saw Sora, Yolei and Rika! Right behind them was Biyomon, Hawkmon and Renamon.   
"Diamond Storm!!" The attack did little damage to Apocalymon, but it gave me and WarGrowlmon time to get up-I managed to grab Calumon and toss him to Rika. 

"What took you?" I joked as Rika came up to me. 

"Vortexes showing up in the sky, Digimon barricades, the usual." Rika responded. I wasn't able to hide my surprise when I saw the smile on her face! 

__

Come on-this time, let's run to a place not on any map

There's nothing to be afraid of

Now is the only time to build tomorrow

Take off to my distant tomorrow

The wind blows through between the buildings, a night when even the stars have disappeared 

My clasped hands are trembling, but I'm looking up at the sky 

"Spiral Twister!!" 

"Hawk Beam!!" 

"Diamond Storm!!" 

The three attacks combined did nothing to injure Daemon and Apocalymon! I knew what one of us would have to do-and it couldn't be Tai, Davis or Sora. I steeled myself, getting ready to carry out my plan. Unfortunately, Rika had grasped what I planned to do and shot forward ahead of me, dropping Calumon by my side! With the way she ran, there was no way I was gonna be able to stop her. 

"Rika, stop!" I pleaded worriedly. She didn't listen-not like I'd expected her to. 

"I'm not gonna lose you again, Gogglehead! As much as I wouldn't want this known, you're too important to me to have to die fighting some freaky Digimon!" Rika cried out as she grabbed her D-Power, which had started glowing! The Darkness Gem came out and exploded. 

__

Digivolution! 

"Renamon Digivolve to…KYUBIMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

****

"Very well. If you are seeking a death wish, who am I to refuse your request? Evil Inferno!!" I gasped in shock as Rika held her D-Power up and it collided with Daemon's energy beam, while it was still glowing! 

"RIKA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" I cried sadly as a terrible explosion erupted seconds later! 

__

In the flow of time I grasp, grasp what I really want, without hesitation 

The day will come when I am enfolded by an invisible brilliance

Surely, surely I'll be able to change

The instant the smoke cleared, I saw no sign of Daemon, but I saw a red-haired girl lying on the ground with blood trickling down her mouth and a smashed D-Power. I raced forward, with Calumon running beside me, and cradled her head in my hands. 

"Rika…why'd you do it?" I croaked out sadly, making no pretense whether she saw my tears or not. 

"It's like I said, Takato…you're too important to me…Too bad I didn't realize it when you told me about that dream you had…" Rika gasped out. I recalled the dream I'd had the night before I met Guilmon and looked back down at Rika, remembering what she'd said to me when she'd cornered me in the alley. 

__

Flashback 

"A dream? What, are you in love with me, loverboy?" 

End flashback

"Rika…are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked calmly as Calumon and the others came up to us. 

"Mm-hmm…I think-no, I _know_-that I love you, Takato…" Before that information could process it's way into my head, Rika leaned up and, despite the dried blood on her lips, she kissed me with unbridled passion! I'd been kissed before, even though it was Jeri, and she'd only kissed me on the cheek, but that wasn't anything like this! I forgot about the fact that she was only seconds from Death's door and just held her in my arms, savoring the kiss and kissing her back. Crying out, Rika pulled away and slowly put her head back in my lap. I had to strain to hear what she was whispering to me, the words that would leave their mark on my heart. 

"It was fun, Gogglehead…" 

And before I could reply back, Rika Nonaka died, releasing a slow, satisfying breath, in my arms. As I sat there, I was vaguely aware of Renamon slowly, but surely, being deleted, but that didn't matter. I heard the final lyrics of a song that I had come to cherish, and it was only now that they came back to memory…

__

Come on-this time, let's run on this road we've chosen; I don't want something that just looks similar

I am the only one to build the future

awake to my new tomorrow

This time, let's run on this road we've chosen; I don't want something that just looks similar

I am the only one to build the future

Awake to my new tomorrow…


	7. The Unity of Courage and Love

Me: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own "The Biggest Dreamer," once again, from Megchan's site. AHHH! 

Rika: (tackles me and grabs me by the throat) Listen, and listen well: You're going to bring me back in this chapter, or you won't ever be able to have children! Got it? 

Me: (struggles to breathe) I had plans…to bring you back…but the quick response of some others prompted…me to hasten this chapter. (irritated) GET OFFA ME! 

Rika: Whoa! (gets up and releases my throat) I had no idea you could get so…what's the word I'm looking for? 

Takato: (enters) Violent, determined, angered, and peeved, any of these words ring a bell? 

****

Digimon

The Meeting of the DigiDestined and the Tamers

Epilogue: The Unity of Courage and Love

__

"Bull's eye, baby!" –Takato Matsuki

__

"And that suits me just fine. I can't wait to mix it up again!" -Rika Nonaka

I stood up, tears of sadness and hatred blurring my view. I couldn't believe that Rika had done what she'd just did. I remembered the very first time I'd seen her-in a dream. The second day that Guilmon had been here was the day I'd met her in the flesh. Unfortunately, she'd wanted to fight and probably absorb Guilmon's data. Lucky for me that Henry had shown up when he did. 

I remembered the time when I'd asked her if she wanted to patrol around the city-I'd been hurt by her response, but it sounded like it was something she couldn't get out of…

__

Flashbacks

"Sorry, I can't. I'm supposed to go to the theatre with my grandmother." 

The time when she'd run into Sandiramon under the subway, she'd tossed Henry her cell phone, yelling out, "Call Gogglehead-we need his help!" Since I'd been busy-uh…doing stuff which couldn't be considered patrolling, Henry couldn't find me, so he went back to help Rika, much to her dismay. 

"Where's Takato?!" 

"I couldn't find him!" 

The good news was, that Impmon had told me what was happening and Guilmon and I burrowed our way down to them. I saw the relief in her face replaced with her usual cynical mood. 

"Uh, sorry I'm late." 

"Look who finally decided to show up!" 

End flashbacks

I wiped away my tears, finally taking notice that Renamon hadn't only deDigivolved, but she was slowly deleting! 

"What's happening to you, Renamon?" 

"You should know that just as well as Rika did-if a Tamer is killed in the heat of battle, their Digimon partner is deleted only seconds after his-or her-death." Renamon explained calmly, despite the fact that her lower part of her body was gone. 

"Is there anyway to bring her back? And why'd you deDigivolve?" 

"I'll answer the second question first-even though I was able to Digivolve due to the Darkness Gem being destroyed, once Rika used up all of the energy in her D-Power, that drained any energy I could've used to help her. And as for your first question…look inside yourself, Takato…" Before I could ask Renamon what she meant, she vanished completely! 

Tai, Sora, Davis and Yolei stood by, silent tears running down their faces. Rika had obviously made a deep bond with the girls, just like I had done with Tai and Davis. 

I felt myself start to tear up. Angered that this had happened, I turned and ran straight toward Apocalymon, who had been stuck in his current position since WarGreymon and Imperialdramon had finally gathered up enough power to temporarily stop him. 

"Don't do it, Takato!" Tai demanded as he and Davis came forward and stopped me in one move. 

"Why not? The only girl I've ever cared about just gave her life for me! You give me one good reason why I should keep going!" I cried out, not even realizing that Rika's D-Power had completely restored itself and that her body was glowing brightly. 

"If you want to remember Rika, then just keep going, keep fighting for what's right! You don't have to give up because of one little setback!" Davis insisted. 

"'Keep fighting?' I've loved Rika ever since I saw her, but I was too bullheaded to see how I felt. Now that I've realized it, it's too late to change time. I can't even say I'm the same person who I was a few moments ago…and I just remembered that I forgot to turn in my homework assignment for the last day of school." At that instant, I turned and saw a bright reddish light completely engulf Rika! Sora and Yolei self-consciously held up their Digivices and beams of light came out of them-as did the Darkness Gems-and hit Rika dead-on! 

__

"Is that what Tai and Davis did when I sacrificed myself to save them in that other world?" I asked myself as Apocalymon flexed with ease and started toward us. 

__

Wanna be the biggest dreamer, running full speed through both the future and the present

That's right, I've realized it-I forgot to do my homework!   
That's one puzzle, puzzle, puzzle, "Who am I?" 

Even if I slide and skin my knees I've gotta stand right back up, I know my chance will run away! 

"Biyomon Digivolve to…BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon Digivolve to…GARUDAMON!!!" 

"Hawkmon Digivolve to…AQUILAMON!!! Aquilamon Digivolve to…SYLPHYMON!!!" 

I heard a strange mechanical voice say, _"Power of Love!" _ I smiled through my tears as I saw Rika's wounds heal miraculously. A second later, she opened her eyes and broke through the beams with a small smile on her face. 

"Takato…?" 

"RIKA!" I jolted forward and hugged her tightly, not caring who was there, but pleased that she was back. 

"Gogglehead, I'm glad to see you love me, but can you let go so I can breathe?!" 

Nodding, as well as blushing slightly, I released her. 

****

"Ha! You pitiful DigiDestined figure you can defeat me as easily as you did Daemon? Death Claw!!" 

WarGreymon, Garudamon, Imperialdramon and Sylphymon all dodged that deadly attack. I realized that WarGrowlmon was waiting for me to make a move. 

"Renamon, where are you?" At that instant, Renamon reappeared, fully restored and reenergized! 

"Right here, Rika." I decided not to tell Rika that her partner had been deleted just after her death-it would probably be too much for her to handle. At that moment, I saw WarGrowlmon take a tremendous hit and deDigivolve back to Guilmon! 

"Guilmon!" I ran over to him, concerned for him. Calumon was hopping around again, apparently pleased that Rika was back, but that triangle-like gem on his head was glowing brightly! 

"Don't worry, guys. I've got a feeling that everything's going to turn out okay!" I looked up from where I was tending to Guilmon and Rika turned toward Calumon, both of us with confused looks on our faces. _That's _when it happened-a card appeared in my hand! Not just any card-a red card! (A/N: I honestly don't know what card will come next, if one will even come at all; I just picked red 'cause it's a cool color) 

"A red card?" I asked in amazement. 

"Give it a swipe and see what happens." Rika suggested. I saw that the other DigiDestined were struggling to hold Apocalymon off, but it wasn't working that well. 

"Well, here goes." 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Warp Digivolution activate!" I demanded heatedly as the card glowed with pure power. 

__

Warp Digivolution! 

"Guilmon Warp-Digivolve to…" I smiled broadly as Guilmon jumped past his Champion form of Growlmon and shot past his Ultimate form of WarGrowlmon. A dark figure emerged from a pretty tense explosion that shocked even Apocalymon. Calumon was shaking with extremity, so extreme that Rika picked him up. 

"…DUKEMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! (A/N: If you didn't know I was using Guilmon's Mega form via Japanese, you must be out of your mind.) 

"Whoa! Dukemon, a Mega Digimon. A Virus type that looks like someone you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alleyway!" Rika declared with a smile on her face. 

__

Big and bigger, biggest dreamer! 

Dreaming is the start of everything, that's the answer

I'll fly farther than anyone, through all the tomorrows

Fly to the horizon, our courage has gained wings! 

In order to grow big and strong, I'll run too

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Hyper Wings activate!" I yelled out. Dukemon flew up and struck Apocalymon hard. He fell back with a groan, suddenly realizing that my Digimon had the power to defeat me. 

****

"Reverse Digivolve!" Almost instantly, triangle shaped cages trapped Dukemon, WarGreymon, Garudamon, Imperialdramon and Sylphymon! When they opened, Guilmon, Agumon, Biyomon, Veemon and Hawkmon remained. 

"Our turn, Renamon!" Rika advised as she grabbed a card and swiped it. 

__

Digimodify! 

"Digimodify! Digivolution, activate!" 

__

Digivolution! 

"Renamon Digivolve to…KYUBIMON!!!" 

__

Digimon! 

****

"Reverse Digivolve!!" Before Kyubimon could even launch an attack, she was trapped and when she was released, she was Renamon again! 

"We can't give up now-even if we have only a handful of Rookie Digimon! We've gotta keep fighting!" I insisted. Tai and Davis agreed with me wholeheartedly. 

That's when our miracle occurred. A portal opened up, releasing the other DigiDestined, alongside Henry and Terriermon! That wasn't the surprise, though-lots of other DigiDestined came through after them. I couldn't even begin to tell you about the number of us there were, but they were there! 

"We decided you guys might need help, so Izzy made a few calls and got DigiDestined from around the world to help out." Henry explained. I laughed out loud. 

"If they can help us take on Apocalymon, all the better!" 

__

For a long time, I've heard the countdown

I'm prepared, let's start now, change into zero! 

Big and bigger, biggest dreamer! 

We've gotta believe, disappear into the twinkling instand

I'll run, not turning away from my heart's target, with all my strength

"I've got a plan-not much, but it'll work on Apocalymon. It did before; it should now!" Tai said as he held up his Digivice. 

"Why not? There's nothing else we can do." I noted as I held up my D-Power. "You ready?" 

"Always." Rika replied. Within seconds, although it felt like minutes, other DigiDestined held up their Digivices or D3's. Beams of light snaked their way around Apocalymon and secured him tight! 

****

"HA! This can't stop me! Total Annihilation!!" Everyone gasped as he vanished and a ball of dark light appeared, threatening to destroy everything! 

"Don't give up! Hold on, everybody!" I yelled out, struggling to keep a tight grip on my D-Power. 

The beams of light seemed to strengthen at my words of confidence. 

"Everyone…STAND TOGETHER!" I demanded defiantly, feeling the power flow from my fingertips to my D-Power. 

Once again, the DigiDestined contained Apocalymon's attack, but with a little help from numerous DigiDestined and the Tamers! 

__

Big and bigger, biggest dreamer! 

Dreaming is the start of everything, that's the answer

I'll fly farther than anyone, through all the tomorrows

Big and bigger, biggest dreamer! 

Dreaming is the start of everything, that's the answer

I'll fly farther than anyone, through all the tomorrows

The light was contained, but when it faded, I saw a portal above my head. I had a feeling I knew what it was for-our way back home! 

"Hurry up, guys! You don't wanna be stuck here with us, do you?" Davis asked calmly. Not waiting, Henry grabbed Terriermon and they both jumped in. Calumon was definitely eager to go. He jumped up, bounced on top of my head and catapulted himself in the portal. I laughed slightly. 

"Thank you for…whatever message you were trying to tell me about earlier. I think I got it." I facefaulted in surprise and shock as Rika actually hugged Yolei and Sora before going through the portal with Renamon. That just left Guilmon and me. Tai and Davis both stepped up. 

"Nice job, Takato! You fought through your fears and helped your partner to Warp-Digivolve." Davis responded. 

"You've shown great courage today, Takato. Here-this belongs to you." I gasped in astonishment as Tai pulled his blue headband off his head and handed it to me! 

"But…why? I'm not sure if I deserve it." 

Tai smiled broadly as Sora came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Trust me-you deserve it. The sacrifices you've made during this entire adventure…I'm positive you deserve it. Besides-I've got another at home." I allowed a smile to cross my face as I pulled my goggles down over my eyes, placed the headband around my head and pushed the goggles over the headband. 

"Always be sure to follow your dreams!" Tai yelled out as Guilmon and I jumped through the portal just seconds before it closed. As I headed back toward the future, and to Rika, I was positive that I could do anything, if I just remembered to follow my dreams…

__

Big and bigger, biggest dreamer! 

Dreaming is the start of everything, that's the answer

Wanna be the biggest dreamer, running full speed through both the future and the present…


End file.
